This invention relates to a method and apparatus for handling bars. The present invention relates, more particularly, to a method of and apparatus for disposing bars, whose outer envelope as defined by a cross-section is substantially rectangular in shape on one of the wider sides. These bars may be solid, may be tubes having rectangular cross-sections or may have other cross-sectional shapes, such as the shape of an unequal angle iron.
When the bars leave manufacturing or processing machinery such as shearing machines, for example, it is necessary to store the bars by placing them side by side and, therefore, stacking the rows of bars so formed. When these bars have a substantially rectangular cross-section, it is essential, for this purpose, for all the bars to be set down on the same side, whether it be one of the narrower sides or one of the wider sides.